Want To Be Close
by platosplaydoh
Summary: Hello, everyone! Getting back into the swing of writing again - A friend wanted a Minato x Mitsuru fic, ideas leapt at me, and now it's gonna be my first multi-chapter work! Fighting on, SEES is resolute in their stand to prevent The Fall, until their leader Minato expresses a surprising emotion - fear. Mitsuru plans to fix this. "No matter what, I will never leave you..."


"No matter what happens, I will never leave you."

Silence proceeded to permeate the dorm. No time for tears, and certainly no time to back down. Now in mutual agreement, the members of SEES had half a month left to prepare themselves for the battle to come. They were a family, and nothing was going to change that. Nothing, except for the words they expected to never come out of their leader's mouth.

"I don't... I don't want to lose you all. I don't think I'm strong enough."

Before anyone could stop him, he had already fled to his room, retiring for the night - and what seemed like forever. The group was stunned, still reeling from his statement. It was the one emotion their leader never truly expressed - fear. One by one, the group returned to their dorm rooms to sleep, stewing in silent guilt and an uncertain future. All that remained in the lobby of the dormitory were Mitsuru Kirijo and Fuuka Yamagishi - tactician and navigator of SEES, respectively. Sitting on the couch, Fuuka slowly drifted into solemn tears, trickling down with an immense amount of sorrow punctuating the room. Mitsuru took her side, hugging her close, trying to practically squeeze the sadness from her friend.

"I'm just... so worried about him... He's never been like this before. What do we do...?"

"He'll be okay - I'm sure of it. He just wants to be honest with us, that's all. He's always been stronger than he looks..." Mitsuru smirks, softly laughing in a sharp exhalation. She slumps a bit about Fuuka, sighing. "You know, it's funny. You're expressing my emotion for me. I don't know why I can't cry for him... I think it's because I only believe in a positive outcome for him. I can't see this truly getting to him. You're currently a window to my soul, Yamagishi. Thank you."

"I'm just feeling how I'm feeling, Mitsuru... a window to your soul? Moreso a reflection, I'd say. But... it shows you care about him. A lot." Fuuka finally pulls away, looking up at Mitsuru with wistful eyes, yet a surprisingly optimistic smile.

"Well, of course I do. We're in a... well, a relationship, after all. I... care about him immensely. I think that's why I hold so much faith in him..." As red flutters about Mitsuru's face, she turns, finding refuge in her hair - all the while, Fuuka looks on in surprise.

"Really? Mitsuru, I'm... I'm so happy for you!"

"Th-thanks... I appreciate it. I'm just... scared, like he is."

Fuuka simply frowns in a puppy dog manner, standing and bringing Mitsuru to her feet as well. "Go talk to him."

"B-but-"

"Talk to him, Mitsuru. He needs it."

"You're... you're right. I cannot thank you enough, Yam- Fuuka... I'm in your debt." Mitsuru sighs, slumping with her breath leaving her body, exhausting her sorrow. Fuuka giggles, walking off in the direction of the stairs.

"Your secret is safe with me!" Fuuka cocks her head to the side with a smile, zipping her lips before heading up the stairs to her room. Mitsuru stands alone in the lobby, only hearing the sound of her breathing and her increasingly noisy heartbeat - thumping, thumping, thumping in her ears. She gathers herself, taking a deep breath before trudging up the stairs, snaking through the hall, eventually reaching the end of it, where she knew her love was more than likely sleeping - Minato Arisato, leader of SEES...

_"Arisato got the top of his class in exams? I guess he's been more studious than he seems, that's surprising..."_

_"Congratulations on your score, you've done an excellent job."_

_"Well, after joining you, studying seemed more important. Did it to make you proud of me, I guess..."_

Mitsuru gave a gentle knock on the door, to no response. Although the door was unlocked, she refused to intrude - instead seeing a shadow shift towards the door, slowly opening it. She crept in, following Minato towards the bed - he shot under the covers, keeping himself tucked in and away, turning away from Mitsuru as she sat at its edge.

"So, what you said earlier..."

"Meant it. Every word."

"I... I know."

"Scared?"

"Y-yes."

"Me too."

"We all are."

"I know."

"I'm here for you, Arisato-"

"You know you should call me Minato. No need for formality."

"Minato..."

Time seemed to slip by, trapped in utter silence and brewing emotion. Mitsuru finally spoke back up.

"I'm here for you. No matter what happens, I will never leave you."

Time ticked by again. It was nearing midnight.

"It'd probably be better if you did."

Mitsuru's eyes shot open in fearful surprise, quickly watering up as the words reverberated within her skull and her heart - the sky outside shifting to a murky green as the Dark Hour had began. Her breathing grew jagged, scared, and desperate for air. She stayed at the foot of the bed as Minato grew more and more distant, as if he was disappearing before her very eyes. She was no longer on the bed. Curled up at its side, bedframe digging into her back, stabbing it to have it lay bare for the world, practically piercing her heart, she sat for the entirety of the Dark Hour, just wanting to be close to him. Tears fell, but she refused to. The window to her soul was broken - and a flood was set to pour out. She wanted to protect him. She knew nothing would enter during the Dark Hour, but she wanted an excuse to be in the room. She sat for the whole hour, brewing in her emotions, all until it finally ended. Eventually, she got up to her feet, walking to the door. As she shut it, sure enough...

She heard the same noises of broken-hearted sadness coming from him.

**A want to be close…**

After what little sleep she got, Mitsuru finally woke up. There was no school today, so she could have slept in, but her body and heart wouldn't allow it. Despite being overcome with a deep grogginess, she got to her feet, and got herself cleaned up and ready for the day. Exiting her room, she saw Fuuka and Aigis talking to each other. They all shared quiet waves to each other. She descended the stairs, hearing Junpei, Yukari, and Akihiko all arguing about nothing - Ken and Koromaru left to mediate, failing miserably - and she turned off to the familiar hallway, leaving the argument behind, drifting towards what could be a new one. She knocked on the door, waiting until she heard a 'come in', and so she did.

"Mitsuru, I know it's you. What do you want?"

"I wanted to go out today. With you."

"Too tired."

"We all are."

She heard him laugh under his covers in a huffing manner, and she couldn't help but smile - seems he let all his emotions flood out, too.

"You got me there."

"I do." She knew she was winning whatever this 'argument' was - feeling proud of herself for doing so. She knew he wouldn't say no at first, so she was able to get her plan set in motion.

After much internal deliberation, Minato slipped from his covers and got to his feet, stretching and yawning. "I'm up, I'm up…"

"So you are. I'll be waiting for you downstairs."

"Understood…"

She could tell he was still apprehensive. He was still scared, and he still felt what he said could be true. She winced, but turned away and headed downstairs, where she found Fuuka and Aigis had arrived to watch the argument - turning out to be about food, what a surprise with Iori and Akihiko involved - and she couldn't help but stand by for a bit. However, she knew she was pressed on time. She cleared her throat and stamped the ground, everyone slowly turning to face her.

"Oh, great. Something actually serious and worth my time."

"Shut up, Akihiko."

"Shut up, Stupei."

"Thanks for saving me, Mitsuru…" Followed by Koromaru's barking.

"That was rather interesting. A memory I shall save."

"Who knew an argument about food could get so heated…?"

Mitsuru laughed a bit - sure enough, this was the family she was so used to being with. Nothing seemed to change, and that certainly was a good thing. Everyone was raising their spirits, and she was happy to join them.

"So, this is about Arisato…"

"We figured as much. We're worried too…" Yukari sighed, slumping in worry as she spoke. Junpei and Akihiko nodded along with her statement, sharing solidarity betwixt themselves.

"We need to figure out how to cheer him up!" Fuuka smiled, growing in determination as Ken and Aigis did their best to match her tenacity.

Mitsuru nodded along with everyone, smiling. "Glad to hear we're all in the same boat. I… actually have a plan. I'm going to lead him around town in a bit of convincing… I need you all to gather the people he's grown closest to during his stay. I want you all to meet us at the subway in Iwatodai Station at precisely 18:00. I'm sure if we all work together, we can do this. We're so close to our goal, but we won't be able to get there without him. I'm sure we're all in agreement, non?"

Sure enough, the group collectively nodded - including a secret wink from Fuuka - and they all began to head out the door, prepared to conduct their mission.

"And before you all leave… thank you. From the bottom of my heart."

"Don't mention it, Mitsuru! We ain't giving up now." Junpei slid a couple fingers across the brim of his hat with a grin.

"Especially when we're so close to the end… we'll stop The Fall." Yukari nodded, before dragging herself and Junpei out the door. As expected, he protested at her forceful nature. They were gone.

"I will conduct watch on the station all day to make sure it is safe." Aigis saluted before running out the door on her swift feet.

"You have my word, Mitsuru. I will not fail you." Akihiko smirked, giving a few swift strikes at an invisible target to motivate himself, Ken mimicking his movements, Koromaru hopping up and down, and the three moved out the door as a unit. Fuuka was the last one left, instead walking toward Mitsuru.

"I'll work on contacting the people who aren't in town currently. I'm sure they'll be able to set this evening aside."

"Thank you Fuuka, I truly appreciate it. Hopefully things go smooth. I'm… nervous, honestly. About all of this. There's too many variables, anything could go wrong, I could-" Mitsuru was hushed by a finger being put to her lips.

"The Mitsuru I know wouldn't stop because of some silly worries. She'd dive in headfirst with confidence, and change the world for the better."

"Well, the Mitsuru I am right now is the real Mitsuru."

"Maybe the Mitsuru I know is who you will grow to become."

"Too many Mitsurus…" The two were cut off by Minato thumping down the stairs ever so slowly, hand to head, overwhelmed with sleepiness. Mitsuru shot up straight, turning away with a wide-eyed blush, all whilst Fuuka stifled a laugh.

"Good morning, Minato-kun! Sleep well?"

"I don't know if I even know the word sleep anymore…"

Fuuka gave another puppy dog frown, but shook it off with a laugh. "Mitsuru told me you guys were going to hang out today. I won't keep you, have fun!"

"I'll try."

"We will."

Hearing the dichotomy of the two responses, Fuuka scratched her head, shrugging before grabbing a cup of tea and sitting down with her computer at the couch in the lobby. Mitsuru sighed, walking to the door with Minato barely in tow. At the maw of the door, he finally spoke up.

"So, what were you wanting to do today?" Genuinely curious, Minato's gaze pierced into Mitsuru. Her newfound confidence allowed her to deflect this stare, deciding to give an ambiguous answer.

"You'll see."

Far off, outside of understanding - a place between dream and reality, mind and matter, two figures were deliberating.

"It appears our guest is at an important junction in his life… his fate, and the fate of his world is truly up in the air. I wonder how his bonds will come to save him?" The man stretched in his chair, clasping his hands together with an eager expression, waiting for what might happen next. Next to him, a woman stood, posing in a rather dramatic manner, holding a book high in the air.

"If there's one thing I've learned about him, it's that he has spades in spirit. Spades? Space? Oh, that's right… spirit in spades!"

"I certainly believe in him, Elizabeth. He is a truly remarkable guest, as I've come to find. It just piques my interest on how he will reach his destination."

"We'll just have to wait and see, Master."


End file.
